Asiana crash luggage thieves sentenced

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A United Airlines employee and his wife were sentenced to jail time Tuesday for stealing the luggage of diverted passengers in the confusion following the Asiana Airlines crash at San Francisco International Airport last summer.

Sean Sharif Crudup, 44, then a customer service representative for United Airlines, and his wife, Raychas Elizabeth Thomas, 32, pleaded no contest to grand theft and possession of stolen property in March after surveillance video caught Crudup handing the bags to Thomas and another woman on July 8.

The bags belonged to a Richmond couple returning home from vacation who were diverted to another airport because of the crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 two days earlier.

Their luggage made it to the airport but was missing when they went to pick it up, according to the San Mateo County district attorney’s office.

The bags contained valuable clothing, and Thomas, posing as the person who bought the items, returned a large quantity of them to the Nordstrom at the Stoneridge mall in Pleasanton for about $5,000.

Prosecutors said a United worker and his wife took advantage of a tragedy. (Chronicle photo)

Authorities arrested the couple when they caught Thomas catching a flight to Hawaii a few weeks later. Investigators found more property from the victims at their Richmond home.

Judge Jonathan Karesh sentenced Crudup to nine months in county jail and Thomas to six months, said San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

They were also sentenced to three years of probation, and ordered to pay about $5,800 in restitution to Nordstorm and other victims.

Thomas will surrender into custody in August, and Crudup in December, Wagstaffe said.